Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasoncw
There is also the general idea that the original SEMTA plans (linked to above) were People Mover lines, but that's not actually true. As far as I know, the projects were always separate. The light rail was to go from State Fair Grounds, to Downtown, then over on Jefferson almost to Grand Boulevard (it would hit some rail lines that intersected with Jefferson, and also serve that relatively high density area). However, most of the light rail was going to either be elevated or underground, so it was really a substantial system.
I haven't been able to confirm it, but it's possible that the technology selection for the People Mover was related to the Woodward light rail line. The SEMTA IES was from late 1979 and the People Mover EIS was from late 1980, and at that point the technology for the people mover hadn't been chosen yet. It's possible that the SEMTA plan had already failed by the time the PM was choosing their technology, and that they chose that technology so that if the Woodward light rail stuff was tried again it could take the form of a PM expansion.
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I wouldn't read too much into the terminology of "light rail" in that report.
"Light rail" back then was not strictly the tram concept we're familiar with today... it was kind of a catch-all term for anything between a streetcar and a full-fledged subway system. People still use the term flexibly today sometimes - the Honolulu Rail project is often called "light rail" despite being identical to SkyTrain or the People Mover.
Also, the renderings in those reports, while pretty vague, clearly show a system with short, subway-style cars, elevated tracks, and no overhead wires... so definitely not a tram.